Faces and Places

Downtown Lancaster is celebrating the arrival of spring on May 18 and 19 with the Red Rose Festival. Now in its third year, the rain-or-shine festival offers a chance to come to relax with great music, food and activities.
Events include outdoor concerts, arts, crafts, a kids zone, car show, karate showcase and Radio Disney fun, along with roaming entertainment and more.
Join us from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 18, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, in beautiful historic downtown Lancaster.

McDonald Green Elementary held a family workshop at the school on March 27.
Workshop sessions included Healthy Living presented by Michael Owens, the school’s physical education teacher. Technology to raise academic achievement for the 21st Century was presented by Lesley Saxon, the school’s computer lab manager and Social Networking was presented by Shandra Hall, school counselor.
The school’s Beta Club members served as greeters and assembled personal care packages, that included items donated by Gilliam Dentistry.

Nonprofit organizations like the Lancaster County Council of the Arts depend on the good will of others to be able to carry out their mission in the community. Those of us who love and believe in our work in the not-for-profit sector delight in the shared experiences provided for and by our community “family” members. This month’s column will highlight many of the cultural opportunities and events we hope you will share with us.

Michele Roberts
For The Lancaster News
Members of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church gathered April 14 to pay tribute to the eldest members of the church, with a program entitled “Remembering Our Past, Honoring Our Present, and Celebrating Our Future.”
Eleven members of the congregation, ranging in age from 82 to 96, were honored during the program. They include Huretta White, Beulah Benson, Burnez Brown, Carrie L. Waiters, Almetta Cunningham, Creola Moses, Idell Waiters, Charlie Smith, Oscar Hall and Jerry Mingo.

By Julie Graham
For The Lancaster News
The Hinson Girls went to Hartsville and came home state bluegrass champions.
The four sisters – Katelyn, 12, on mandolin and lead vocals, 14-year-old twins Allison and Melissa on banjo and bass, and Kristin, 17, on guitar and fiddle – won the band contest at RenoFest on the fourth weekend of March.
The festival is named for Don Reno, a bluegrass legend from South Carolina.

By Michele Roberts
For The Lancaster News
It only takes watching the 6 o’ clock news or picking up a copy of the newspaper on any given day to find out that some sort of violence has taken place somewhere in the county, state, country or some other part of the world.
But what if violent tendencies were not limited to just select members of the population? What if every individual in the world gave in to thoughts and acts of violence? One local author considered that fact, and wrote a book in which such an apocalyptic situation becomes real.

Jackie Summers has never been on a hot air balloon ride before, so she added that to her bucket list. On the morning of April 13 she got her wish.
Robert Summers set up the event for his wife, who has a form of cancer. Robert brought a Relay for Life sign with the words “Doctor Driver” to take with them in the basket.

Editor’s note: The Lancaster News is tracking the progress of Katie Stogner and Jeff Holden as they undertake the Island Sun Tanning and Fitness 12-week Challenge for 2012. Here is their third progress report. You can also follow their progress at stevelewisplan.com.
Katie’s story
We just finished week seven of the challenge and while I am still so happy I did this, I am realizing why it is called a “challenge” now.

Robert Howeyrhowey@thelancasternews.com
Each spring, Donna White, with the help of her committee, turns a negative into a positive.
The date for that switch this year is April 14.
That’s when the sixth annual Run for Ryan, a Kleine-Levin Syndrome fundraiser and awareness event that includes the county track meet, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lancaster High School track.

By now, most New Year’s resolutions have fallen to the wayside.
I make them every year. This year, after much thought and soul searching, I decided to tackle the hardest resolution of them all: I’m reducing the sodium in my diet.
As far as resolutions go, it doesn’t have the popularity of “losing 10 pounds,” “paying off debt” or “reading the Bible through.”